Despite the fact that a Republican (Abraham Lincoln) freed African-Americans from slavery despite the hard-fought protests of Democrats, African-Americans hate Republicans. We're all a bunch of white racists. At least that's the perception.
This perception grew during the early and mid-1900's as Republicans changed their focus from freeing the slaves to separate but equal and other misguided ideas. The South grew more Republican and the "good-ole boy" white image is how the Republicans came to be known.
Many Republicans have fought this image for many years. Their argument is that the white rich Democrats in office offer hand-outs that temporarily help African-Americans, but these actions do not empower them to take control of their lives. Instead, Republicans fight for training and development and job creation as the best method for all Americans, including African-Americans, to get ahead in life. No one ever moved out of poverty because of a free loaf of bread and subsidized housing from City Hall.
I'm not implying that these services are not needed. Society will always include many poor people who are uneducated, or have been misguided in life. Safety nets are needed to help protect them and others in society. But by and large, most of the poor would be better helped by giving them jobs rather than a measly welfare check.
If the Republicans fought harder, they could better portray their image and spread their message. However, their current actions are not helping to change that negative image.
On Thursday September 27th, Morgan State University, a mostly-African-American university, will be hosting a Republican debate on race. Unfortunately for the Republicans, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, and John McCain
will not be there. These are the front-runners to the Presidential election. Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, Alan Keyes, and Mike Huckabee will be there. These are the Republicans that no one knows and these are the Republicans that will not go far in the primary elections.
The candidates that have bowed out claim that they have schedule conflicts. We know this not to be true. The problem lies in the fact that African-Americans vote Democrat almost 11-1. The attitude is, "why go there when they're not going to vote for us anyway?" This is true, most won't vote for you anyway, but it certainly is not helping the image that Republicans don't care about African-Americans. In fact, it is solidifying that attitude. Newt Gingrich is furious with the Republicans and says that they are
making a big mistake. I agree.
Another reason candidates may have chosen to bow out of this debate is that it is hosted by Tavis Smiley, a hard-left wing Liberal/Socialist. This moderator is not shy about his left-wing extremist ideas. In fact, he wrote a book titled "
Hard Left: Straight Talk About the Wrongs of the Right". Seriously? How would the Democrats like a debate hosted by Bill O'Reilly? they wouldn't. So who's to think that it's okay for Smiley to host a debate? That would be as outrageous as other such left-wing extremists as Tim Russert, Keith Olbermann, or Matt Lauer hosting a debate. No one would take those debates seriously.
So what should the Republicans expect? Republicans should expect to be booed, heckled, and even assaulted while at this debate. This is common treatment towards Republicans at Morgan State. You can ask
Michael Steele about this.
And the debate is in Baltimore, an already violent city. In fact, the candidates and media personnel shouldn't be surprised if one or two of them is shot with a chrome 45 in the parking lot while city residents are looking for loot. However, Republicans must do the tough things if they are ever going to change the attitude of the African-American voters. Skipping the debate sends the wrong message. If you're going to skip this debate, you should skip the election.
